Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots

f you think that nothing happens in your yard after dark, you're in for a big surprise. Magic happens and miracles unfold when you plant a garden with nightblooming flowers. Under a full moon, your garden looks enchanted, glowing luminously in the night. Critters you never see in daylight stop for snacks; some stay to raise families. And you'll be able to watch it all happening from behind the leafy walls of a vine-covered tent.

Fragrance is the color of night. When evening comes in the Moon Garden, pale flowers that look bedraggled and tired during the day lift their heads, open, and release their potent perfumes. Giant, fairylike moths slip from hiding places and follow invisible pathways of fragrance through the moonlight. Bats awaken, stretch their wings, and fly overhead in search of insects. Toads, frogs, glowworms, and fireflies become your guests. Spread out your flowery welcome mat and wait for darkness to fall.

MOON GARDEN--Ingredients

Inside the Crescent:

2 seedlings, jasmine tobacco

2 seedlings, evening primrose

2 seedlings, four-o'clocks

2 seedlings, evening-scented stock

The Borders:

2 six-packs, white alyssum

2 six-packs, white petunias

2 six-packs, white yarrow

The Tent:

6 seedlings, moonflowers

rope

5 6-foot bamboo poles or 2-by-2-inch lumber

Excerpted from Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy. Copyright (c) 1999. Reprinted with permission by Workman Publishing.